No replies from the right section, advice?

[Emmiiee]

id post this in housing but no one replied

So Ediie and her 3, 7 week old babies are living in a 120cm (i think) indoor cage, now this was fine when they were babies but now there growing they are fighting more, and i think this is due to the lack of space!

now I really one have one option, Getting a bigger cage is NOT an option as it sits on top of an identical cage in an alcove in my room.

So might have to pair them, I have a smaller cage *** would be okay for 2 untill the summer when there all going outside together


But who do i choose to pair off :/ their all so close, in worried the babies will no react well to being seperated

And can I still put all 4 together for run time? to try and keep the bond? x

 

[PopcornPigs]

Hey, I'm guessing all the babies are female
In which case the pairing is up to you, try and figure out who has the closest bond e.g. is one a mummies girl while the other two like to wander off etc.
I'd expect that you'd be able to put them all in the run together, just keep an eye out in case any fighting starts.
What size is the smaller cage? rabbit 100?

 

[Bailey]

Have you measured the cage just to make sure? How big is the second cage it would be okay as a temp thing if it's a 100.

You could buy a stand for one of the cages so another could go underneath it?

 

[Emmiiee]

Have you measured the cage just to make sure? How big is the second cage it would be okay as a temp thing if it's a 100.

You could buy a stand for one of the cages so another could go underneath it?

might be just short of 100! but they are atm still small! the 120cm cage there in now is already ontop of a cage, *** put anymore on top x

 

[Bailey]

If you got a stand for the bottom 120 you could still have those two stacked but then it would be off the floor so could get another under it.

Are they all girlies? They should be okay in a 100 til they get bigger. x

 

[Emmiiee]

If you got a stand for the bottom 120 you could still have those two stacked but then it would be off the floor so could get another under it.

Are they all girlies? They should be okay in a 100 til they get bigger. x

ooo i have a sloing ceiling so the top cage is almost hitting the top so *** higher it x

 

[piggyme234]

If you pair them off and put two in another cage, where will that cage go? Does the bottom cage have occupants? If so could you not put the bottom cage where you would have put the separated babies and construct a two storey C&C in the alcove for mum and all the babies?

 

[Emmiiee]

the cage just goes infront of one of my units, it sticks out and is in the way tho, and yh the bottom cage has matilda mini lop in it ! x

 

[Sodapops]

How long would they be in the smaller cage for? I know girls require less room than boys, but if it's going to be months before they are in a bigger cage then you may find you get bickering with the pair in a smaller cage.

Is there any way you could set up an area for the two that will be in a smaller cage? If you've got a run perhaps you could set this up for them during the day with their cage inside so they have a bigger living space...

Maybe you could look in to building a C&C? They are great for those limited on floor space as you can build 'up' instead of 'out'.

FYI: to house 4 guinea pigs together you would need to provide a minimum of 13 square foot of space (so a minimum cage size of around 6ft x 2.5ft) - two piggies will require at least 7.5 square foot (4ft x 2ft cage size)

Zooplus are doing some great deals at the moment and their Skyline Maxi XXL is only £39.99 with 10& off your first order and free shipping (it's the same size as the Ferplast rabbit 120 cage)

 

[Emmiiee]

How long would they be in the smaller cage for? I know girls require less room than boys, but if it's going to be months before they are in a bigger cage then you may find you get bickering with the pair in a smaller cage.

Is there any way you could set up an area for the two that will be in a smaller cage? If you've got a run perhaps you could set this up for them during the day with their cage inside so they have a bigger living space...

Maybe you could look in to building a C&C? They are great for those limited on floor space as you can build 'up' instead of 'out'.

FYI: to house 4 guinea pigs together you would need to provide a minimum of 13 square foot of space (so a minimum cage size of around 6ft x 2.5ft) - two piggies will require at least 7.5 square foot (4ft x 2ft cage size)

Zooplus are doing some great deals at the moment and their Skyline Maxi XXL is only £39.99 with 10& off your first order and free shipping (it's the same size as the Ferplast rabbit 120 cage)

I don't have anymore room for bigger cages and its untill the weather ges warmer and they can go outside x

 

[PiggiePal]

Are the babies all female? If you have any males then all your females will likely be pregnant as they reach sexual maturity at 3 weeks old.

If they are fighting then put two of the babies together in the separate cage, they should be fine to have floor time together yes.

 

[Emmiiee]

Are the babies all female? If you have any males then all your females will likely be pregnant as they reach sexual maturity at 3 weeks old.

If they are fighting then put two of the babies together in the separate cage, they should be fine to have floor time together yes.

All girliess and okay will see how they get on this week and if there still fighting will seperate!

 

[Sodapops]

You do need to consider either getting a bigger cage or splitting them up in to pairs, a 120cm sized cage is no where near big enough for 4 pigs! Like i said in my other post, they could manage in smaller cages if you gave them enough floor time daily - do you have a run or area you could block off during the day for them? If they have enough space to get away from one another it may resolve the bickering that's currently going on.

I'm not sure with girls (so someone with more experience will have to answer) but will splitting them up have a detrimental effect on them being put back together in a few months time? I'm presuming you will have to re-bond the girls when you come to put them back together again in the summer?

When you say fighting - exactly what are they doing?

 

[Wiebke]

I would either split them up (you can rebond girls without problems if you do it in a neutral space, best after having let them have contact through mesh for at least one day or more previously) or create a temporary pen they can use from their cage to ease the stress.

Your cage is half the size of what they should have. Now that the babies are reaching the boundless energy stage, you really need to provide them with a suitable outlet or the squabbling will continue. There is also some dominance involved as your girls are passing from "baby" status to "member of the hierarchy/matable sow" and are having to find their place in the evolving hierarchy of the group.

PS: Please be aware that posting on a weekend means that much less people are coming on and that posts can quickly drop out of the "new posts" listing (see top bar). You either need to hang around and bump up your post from time to time or wait until Sunday evening when you can be sure of an answer.